Adjustable typewriter platform



July 4, 1961 B. E. HERBOLSHEIMER ADJUSTABLE TYPEWRITER PLATFORM FiledJan. 11, -1960 1- A fg1 INV EN TOR.

Bruce E? Hef0 einer;

BY aww The present invention relates to an adjustable -typewriterplatform and more particularly to a unique and novel platform designwhich lprovides more space for4 a typists knees and legs.

.Itis well knownthat typewriters should be situated at `an optimumelevation, and to this end typewriter platforms incorporating meansforvarying the ,elevationfhave ,heretofore been provided. Such fadjustable korV variable elevation platforms'lrcornprise a basic yframestructure,v

.,whic'h serves `as av base on which the platform proper is.-adljustably mounted. This frame includes eithernafront frcross-membe`ror a flat plate which is xed relativeto the floor surface, therebyAlimiti-ng the knee `and leg room offla typist to thespace `beneath thecross-member. r v

These Prior constructions required such a base f frame in order toaccommodate manipulable mechanism :by which the-adjustable platformcould be varied in elevation. For a short typist not needingparticularly high yplatform elevations, this construction serves itspurpose satisfactorily; however, for a tall person who needs. tofhavethetypewriter considerably elevated, he normally alsoA requires agreat deal more leg or knee room than .is permitted by theixedheight'base frame. This being true, the mechanism fails to performitsintended `purpose of accommodating satisfactorily and comfortablytypists of radically different heights.

. It is 'therefore an object of this invention to provide an radjustabletypewriter platform wherein the adjustment of the platform proper servesin addition to provide an adjustment of the height of the space normallyoccupied by the typists knees.

It'risanoth'er object of this invention to provide an adjstabletypewtiter'platform wherein the mechanism for `fadjusting'the height islocated outside the space normally occupied by a typists knees.

Othe'riobjects will become apparent as the description proceeds:

vTothe` accomplishment of the above and related objects, the invention'may be embodied in the forms illusltrated in the accompanying drawings,attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings areillus- `trative'only, and thatgspecic change may= be made in .thespecific constructions illustrated and described, so long as the scopeof the appended claims is not violated.

In the drawings: f i

FIG; l'is a front elevationv of one embodiment of this Yinvention shownas being mounted on a typical desk, a portion of the' desk being1illustration;f` t FIG. 2 is a sectional illustrationtaken substantiallyalong the section line 2 2 of FIG. l;

broken away for vclarity of FIG; 3 is a bottom pla'n view of thetypewriter plattlform of FIG. l also partially broken away. for clarityof illustration;

FIG.`4 isla fragmentary bottom plan view of thesame typewriter platformwith the operating mechanism moved to a different position thanshown inFIG. 3; and

l FIG. 5 is a fragmentary illustration in perspective of 2 one of theelevating-screw assemblies used in the construction of the precedingfigures.

Referring to the drawings, Iand more particularly to FIGS. .2, 3 and 4,the mechanism includes a U-'slraped base plate 110 vwhich vis preferablyfabricated from light lgauge'fsheet-lsteel. lThe base plate-.10 issubstantially flat Patented JulyI 4,`

ICC

with the exception that its edges are bent downwardly sides beingintegrally connected together by the base plate crossmember 22. y j l'Secured to the topside of the base plate 10 are four upstandingsupporting posts 24, 26, 28 and 30. Ihese posts are substantiallyidentically formed such thatthe description of one will suflice for all.Each post is preferablyiabricated of sheet steel formed to a box-likeshape but with the longitudinal edges of the section'of sheet metal fromwhich the post is fabricated spaced from each other to provide alongitudinally extending vertical slot 32. The bottom and top of eachpost are provided with two laterally extending anges 34 and 36,respectively, the two flanges 34 being secured to the base plate 10 bymeans of rivets yor the like. These four posts may be considered inpairs, the two posts 24 and 26 being characvterized as. the front postssince they are located near the front ends of the two'base platesides,14 and 16, respectively. Similarly, the posts 28 andY 30 `may becharacterized as the rear posts since they are located toward the rearends of these sides, respectively. The slots 32 in the various posts arearranged such that the slots in the front posts 24 and 26 face eachother and are parallel, as are the slots in the two rearpposts 28 and 30with respect to each other.

Two rigid strap steel braces 38 and 40 Iare connected to the tops of therespective front and rear posts 24, 28 and 26, 60. The braces areattached rigidly to the respective post tops by means of rivets passingthrough the flanges 36 as shown more clearly in FIG. 5. vAs seen moreclearly in FIG. 3, the four posts are located with respect to each otherat the four corners of an imaginary rectangle.

Mounted inside the posts 24, 26, 28 and 30, are four substantiallyidentical upst-anding screws 4t2., 44, 46 and 48, respectively, each inregistering alignment with .the respective slotv 32. Each screw isjournaled at its opposite ends in the base plate 10' and one of .the twobraces 38, 40, respectively. For example, the bottom end of the screw 42is journaled in a bearing aperture in the base plate 10 while the upperend is journaled in a bearing aperture in the brace 38.

Fixedly secured tc the bottom end of each screw and disposed adjacentthe underside of the base plate is a flat steel operating arm 50, thearm extending radially or laterally from the screw. A U-shaped pitman orconnecting rod, indicated generally by the reference numeral 52, is alsolocated adjacent to -the underside of the base plate 10 and isconstructed to conform to both the size and shape of the base plate(FIG. 3).v This pitman 52 must be rigidly-constructed so for this reasonis provided with two spaced-apart angle irons 54 and 56 as crossmemberswhich are secured to .the rear ends of the two fiat steel side bars 58and 60, respectively.Y Additional reinforcement between the crossmembers-54 and 56 andthe side bars 5-8 and 60 is provided by the twocorner braces 62 welded preferably in the positions as shown in FIGS. 3and 4. l

The pitman 52 is pivotally connected to each of the operating arms 50 assholwn by means of. a respective pivot .pin 64, ythis pivot pin beingspaced from the axis of the respective screw. All of the operating arms`50 and lever lengths thereof are of substantially the same length,

so .that the pitman 52 may be rotated in a planeparallel to the baseplate to rotate all of the screws in unison.

Operation of the pitman 52 is accomplished by means of a crank 66composed of a rst link 68 pivoted at one end by means of a pin 70 to thebase plate and fxcdly secured at theother end to a pin 72 whichVprojects the pitman. The lower end to the handle portion 69y ofthe crank66 as shown. The opening in thepitman arm 60 which accommodates the lpin72 is large enough to 'provide for "a [rotational connection therewith..By disposing'thepivotpin 70 on'fa straight line which intersects theaxesofvthe front and rear screws 42 Vand 46, and by furtherlocating thepin '72 from thep'in 70 a'distance equal tothe-operating lengths of theindividual arms 50, the crankl66 may be rotated to in turn impart arotational motion -to the pit- 52 for rotating all of'thesorews-in'unison threaded aperture which is threadedly mounted on theVrespective screw as more clearly shown in FIG. 5, the

stem of the nut member passing through the slot 32 `in the respectivepost. By means of this threaded connection, rotation of the screw willcause the nut member as well as the respective bar to be moved upwardly4or downwardly, depending upon the direction of vscrew rotation.

The bar 74 is threadedly connected at its opposite ends to the frontscrews 42 `and 44, while the rear bar 76 is similarly connected to therear screws `46 and 48.

By locating these bars 74 and 76 equal distances above the base plate tostart with, rotation of the four screws in unison will serve to raise orlower Ithe bars in unison,

vdepending upon the direction of screw rotation.

FIG. l illustrates the mechanism thus far described as being fastened toan ordinary desk having a typewniter well or recess S0. The illustratedmethod of securing the mechanism .to the desk is shown more clearly inFIG.

f2, suitable bolts onscrews 82 being used to clamp the braces 38 and -40to the underside of the desk top on opposite sides, respectively, of thetypewriter Well. As shown in FIG. 2 three such screws are used fory thispurpose. By this means of fastening, the mechanism is in effectsuspended from the underside of the desk top in registration with thetypewriter well 80. i

Inoperation, Ithe two bars 74 and 76 constitue a platform on which atypewriter may be placed. By rotating the crank 66, all of thescrewswill be rotated in unison, thereby moving the platform bar 7'4 and76upwardly or downwardly as the case may be.

An import-ant feature of this invention resides in the fact that thefront portion of the mechanism is completely open, this beingaccomplished by providing vthe base plate 10 and the pitman 52| with aU-shape. Since the typists knees are located underneath the base` plate,

it becomes obvious that nothing in the forward or front portion of thebase plate can interfere with'` or contact the typists knees. The loweststructure adjacent the frontend of the mechanism is the platform bar 74;however, for a tall person requiring more knee room, this isautomatically provided when the person adjusts the typewriter stand tothe necessary height for comfortable typing. Thus, by means of asingleadjustment, more knee room is provided for the taller person whenthe typewriter height is adjusted to the proper level.

While a pitman 52 has 'been illustrated and described in connection withproviding simultaneous rotation of the four screws, a chain and sprocketconnection may be usedV instead to provide ythe same operation. In this"arrangement, a small sprocket is attached to the bottom end of eachscrew adjacent to the underside of the ybase plate yanda chain is passedaround the sprockets along a U-shaped path in parallelism with the shapeof the base plate. A crank attached to one sprocket is used to impartrotation to the latter, whereby all of the sprockets 'and screws arerotated in unison. Use of the pitman 512, however, is preferred'as it ismore economical and foolproof than the chain and sprocket drive.

What is claimed is:

1. An adjustable typewriter-platform comprising a U- shaped base platehaving two substantially parallel elongated sides, four upstandingsupporting posts spaced apart and secured to the top side of said baseplate at the front yand rear ends of said sides respectively, said postsbeing hollow and slotted longitudinally, two elongated braces extendingparallel to said sides respectively, said braces being secured at theopposite ends thereof to the tops of the respective front and rearposts, ilz'ourv upstanding screws disposed inside said four postsrespectively, one end of each screw being journalled in said base plateand the other end of each screw being journalled inthe respective brace,two horizontally disposed 'supporting bars extending transversely ofsaid base plate sides and spanning the space therebetween, the oppositeends of said bars having nut members thereon, the nut members of one barbeing threadedly received by the two screws respectively in the frontposts, the nut members of the other bar being threadingly received bythe two screws respectively in the rear posts, said bars extendingthrough the slots of the respective posts, four operating arms, one armeach being ixedly secured at one end to the lower end of each screw toextend laterally of the latter, a U- shaped pitman of substantially thesame size and shape as said base plate, said pitman being disposedadjacent to and in parallelism with the underside of said base plate,the other ends of al1 said operating arms pivotally connected to saidpitman, and a crank arm comprising a link disposed between said baseplate and said pitman and pivotally connected at one end to said baseplate, and a handle portion disposed on the other side of said pitmanfrom said link and fastened at one end to the other end of said link bya pin which extends through an opening in said pitman, said opening insaid pitman accommodating rotation of said pin whereby rotation of saidcrank arm serves to rotate all of said screws in unison.

2. An adjustable typewriter platform comprising a U- shaped base platehaving two substantially parallel elongated sides, four upstandingsupporting posts spaced apart and secured tothe top side of said baseplate at the front and rear ends of said sides respectively, said postsbeing hollow and slotted longitudinally, four upstanding screws disposedinside said four posts respectively, one end of each screw beingjournalled in said base plate and the other end of each screw beingjournalled in the upper end of the respective post, two horizontallydisposed supporting bars extending transversely of said base plate'sides and spanning the space therebetween,'the opposite ends of saidbars having nut members thereon, the nut members of one bar beingthreadedly'received'by the two screws respectively "in the front posts,the nut members of the other bar being threadingly received by the 4twoscrews respectively in the rear posts, said bars extending through theslots of the respective posts, four operating arms, one arm each beingfixedly secured 'at one end to the lower end of each screw to extendlaterally of the latter, a U-shaped pitman'of substantially the samesize and shape as said base plate, said pitman being disposed adjacentto and in parallelism with the underside of said base plate, the otherends of all said operating arms being pivotally connected to saidpitman, and a crank arm comprising a link disposed between said baseplate and said pitman and pivotally connected at one end to said baseplate, and a handle portion disposed on the other side of said pitmanfrom said link and fastened l lat one end to the other end of said linkby a pin which extends through an opening in said pitman, said openingin said pitman accommodating rotation of said pin whereby rotation ofsaid crank arm serves to rotate all of said screws in unison.

3. An adjustable typewriter platform comprising a U- shaped base platehaving two substantially parallel elongated sides, four upstandingsupporting posts spaced apart and secured to the top side of said baseplate at the front and rear ends of said sides respectively, said postsbeing hollow and slotted longitudinally, four upstanding screws disposedinside said four posts respectively, one end of each screw beingjournalled in said base plate and 4the other end of each screw beingjournalled in the upper end of the respective post, two horizontallydisposed supporting bars extending transversely of said base plate sidesand spanning the space therebetween, the opposite ends of one bar beingthreadedly mounted on the two front screws and the opposite ends of theother bar being threadedly mounted on the rear screws, Ifour operatingarms, one arm each bein-g xedly secured at one end to the lower end ofeach screw to extend laterally of the latter, a U-shaped pitman ofsubstantially the same size and shape as said base plate, said pitmanbeing disposed adjacent to and in parallelism with the underside of saidbase plate, the other ends of all said operating arms being pivotallyconnected to said pitman, and 'a crank arm comprising a link disposedbetween said base plate and said pitman and pivotally connected at oneend to said base plate, and la handle portion disposed on the other sideof said pitman from said link and fastened at one end to the other endof said link by a pin which extends through an opening in said pitman,said opening in said `pitman accommodating rotation of said pin wherebyrotation of said crank arm serves to rotate all of said screws inunison.

4. An adjustable typewriter platform comprising a 1U- shaped base platehaving two substantially parallel elongated sides, four upstandingsupporting posts spaced apart and secured to the top side of said baseplate at the front and rear ends of said sides respectively, said postsbeing hollow and slotted longitudinally, four upstanding screws disposedinside said four posts respectively, one end of each screw beingjournalled in said base plate and the other end of each screw beingjournalled in the upper end of the respective post, two horizontallydisposed supporting bars extending transversely of said base plate sidesand spanning the space therebetween, the opposite ends of one bar beingthreadedly mounted on the two front screws and the opposite ends of theother bar being threadedly mounted on the rear screws, and means forrotating al1 of said screws in unison.

5. An adjustable typewriter platform comprising a U- shaped base platehaving two substantially parallel elongated sides, four upstandingscrews spaced apart and journalled at one end in said base plate at thefront and rear ends respectively of said sides, saidl screws beinglocated at the corners of an imaginary rectangle, means on said baseplate for supporting said screws in upstanding position, twohorizontally disposed supporting bars extending transversely of saidsides and spanning the space therebetween, opposite end portions off onebar being threadedly mounted on the two front screws respectively andopposite end portions of the other bar being threadedly mountedl on thetwo rear screws respectively, four operating arms, one arm each beingxedly secured at one end to the lower end of each screw to extendlaterally of the latter, a U-shaped pitman of substantially the samesize and shape as said base plate, said pitman being disposed adjacentto the underside of and arranged in parallelism with said base plate,the other ends of all said operating arms being pivotally connected tosaid pitman, and a `crank Iarm comprising a disposed between said baseplate and said pitman and pivotally connected at one end to said baseplate, and a handle portion disposed on the other side of said pitmanfrom said link and fastened at one end to the other end of said link bya pin which extends through an opening in said pitman, said opening insaid pitman accommodating rotation of said pin whereby rotation of saidcrank arm serves to rotate all of said screws in unison. 1

6. An adjustable typewriter platform comprising a U- shaped base platehaving two substantially parallel elongated sides, four upstandingscrews spaced apart and journalled at one end in said base plate at thefront and rear ends respectively of said sides, said screws beinglocated at the corners of an imaginary rectangle, means on said baseplate for supporting said screws in upstanding position, platform meansthreadedly mounted on said front and rear screws, four operating arms,one arm each being xedly secured at one end to the lower end of eachscrew to extend laterally of the latter, a U-shaped pitman ofsubstantially the same size and shape as said base plate, said pitmanbeing disposed adjacent to the underside of and arranged in parallelismwith said base plate, the other ends of all said operating arms beingpivotally connected to said pitman, and a crank arm having a portionpivotally connected at one end to said base plate and at its other endto said pitman whereby rotation of said crank arm serves to rotate allof said screws in unison.

7. An adjustable typewriter platform comprising a U- shaped base platehaving two substantially parallel elongated sides, four upstandingscrews spaced apant and journalled at the one end in said base plate atthe front and rear ends respectively of said sides, said screws beinglocated at the corners of an imaginary rectangle, means on said baseplate for supporting said screws in upstanding position, platform meansthreadedly mounted on said front and rear screws, four operating arms,one arm each being xedly secured at one end to the lower end of eachscrew to extend laterally of ythe latter, a U- shaped pitman ofsubstantially the same size and shape as said base plate, said pitmanbeing disposed adjacent to the underside of and arranged in parallelismwith said base plate, the other ends of all said operating arms beingpivotally connected to said pitman, and means connected to said U-shapedpitman for imparting rotary motion thereto and in turn to said fourupstanding screws.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,624,535 Bellhoefer Jan. 6, 1953 2,831,746 Hartnett Apr. 22, 19582,857,225 Dombek Oct. 21, 1958

